There’s a lot of high technology used in cosplay modifications, but it may not seem high-tech unless you really pay attention. At its heart, modifying a costume is all about the ingenuity to solve design problems and the wherewithal to go through the process of making it real. With a few components that one can find with a lot of searching and a good deal of skill, people create some truly convincing costumes.

Motorized components

Imagine designing a Big Daddy costume from Bioshock. As great as getting the shape right is, how much more awesome would your costume be if the arm based drill actually turned? If you want to get it right, you go the extra mile. Using a simple five volt motor can get good RPMs and mounting the drill face, which can be simple foam rubber or latex, only requires a solid base and to properly balance where it meets the motor’s shaft.

CAD Diagrams

Just about any kind of sophisticated creation in this day and age needs to start with more than just a few sketches. Once the sketching phase is finished and there’s a psychological commitment to actually creating the costume, the builder has to thoroughly study the original design and mimic it.

The best way to do the second part is through a computer aided design or CAD program. Using this kind of program, every surface’s measurement is made to exacting specifications and it becomes easy to cut everything to fit together gorgeously. Looking to construct your own realistic superhero costumes for notable characters like Iron Man or Batman? A CAD program might be your best bet.

Voice Changing Technology

Would Darth Vader have been anywhere near as intimidating and carried the same powerful gravitas if he’d had a voice like a whiny teenager who hadn’t so much hit puberty as stood in the same room with it? Of course not!

When the character you or another designer chooses has an iconic voice, a microphone and speaker that alters the wearer’s voice is the perfect way to complete the look. Even if Vader’s lightsaber could be more impressive, with the right voice he can still come off as the Dark Lord of the Sith and seize all the respect he deserves.

Integrated Lights

LED lights have come a long way in the past few years, becoming inexpensive and easy to get. Any high-tech costume, particularly one from a space universe, should have built-in lights. While you can fake this to a point, glossy areas look ten times as good with some well placed lights. Often a single nine volt battery stored discreetly and a simple push switch is all it takes to go from a good costume to a great one.

Remote Control Parts

Sometimes a character has very long arms or facial features that can’t be articulated properly by a human being. In these cases, full-on animatronic components are necessary to get the look just right. Using small motor and certain radio frequencies, either the person wearing the costume or someone helping them can make extra long limbs, tails and synthetic facial features seem to come to life.

With ingenuity and some technical prowess, you can do amazing things with costumes. What other high-tech cosplay mods have you seen?